過
Mnemonic
You're walking along a path when you spot a cookie jar sitting unguarded on a bench. You overdo it—cramming fistfuls of cookies into your mouth until the jar is empty and your gut nearly explodes. You collapse right there on the path, groaning amid crumbs, unable to take a single step further.
Additional thoughts
Visualize the long, lonely path with nobody to stop you. The unguarded cookie jar is pure temptation. Your bloated body sprawled across the path, empty jar beside you, captures the sense of going far beyond any reasonable limit.Quick recall
Found a cookie jar on the path and overdo it until you collapse in crumbs.Details
The keyword for 過 is overdo. This kanji conveys the sense of going beyond what is appropriate or necessary, suggesting excess, surplus, or passing beyond a limit. It encompasses meanings such as surpassing, going too far, committing an error or fault (as a result of excess), and the passage of time. At its core, 過 captures the idea of crossing a boundary—whether in action, degree, or time—often with the implication that one has gone further than one should have.
- On'yomi
- か
- Kun'yomi
- す.ぎる、す.ごす、あやま.ち、あやま.つ、よぎ.る、よ.ぎる